POLICE are struggling to catch diesel thieves with about 90% of reported thefts over three years going undetected.

Statistics revealed under the Freedom of Information Act show North Wales Police only managed to detect 32 out of 341 from farms, private hauliers and public diesel storage depots between 2007-09.

Police chiefs said catching the raiders was extremely difficult given the huge variety of locations targeted.

They urged businesses, farms and homes to take responsibility to ensure they have the best security possible.

David Hughes operations manager for LE Jones hauliers, in Ruthin, said they had been the victims of diesel theft in the past which had prompted a major tightening of security at their base.

“We haven’t had any incidents of theft recently because we have installed hi-tech security equipment including top of the range cameras to secure the premises.“

And we are now constantly monitoring the situation to make sure we are doing all we can, because diesel is so expensive to buy, ” he said.

“A big problem is a lack of secure parking areas for lorry drivers on the road, and service stations are not as secure as they used to be.”

Farmers’ Union of Wales President Gareth Vaughan added: “We are aware that diesel is disappearing from certain areas.

“And the true situation could be far worse than we know, because these are just the reported thefts.

A NWP spokesman said: “North Wales Police have utilised a number of methods to tackle fuel theft including raising the profile of such thefts via the press, and various operations conducting in targeting suspected offenders.”